wind blows deeply

Isn't that how it often works. Someone walks into the room, gets your attention and says 'I need to make an announcement.' Then, depending on the person, there is a pause of varying lengths. Sometimes only a second while they take a breath. A few moments while they look down, shuffling their feet back and forth. A few more while they look out at the group, trying to find a friendly face or someone with whom to make eye contact. Then they swallow or clear their throat. Another deep breath. And then it comes; good or bad, joyous or painful, hurtful or healing. Whatever it is, the news comes. Eventually.

Some of you already know this and have known for some time now. There are two things really.

The first is that I got a new, but only temporary, job at work. I am now a Project Coordinator. It's more like a project facilitator -- keeping track of the regional pharmacy department initiatives and keeping them on track, periodically pulling in staff to work on them, ensuring priorities are adhered to and maybe even sitting on committees. I'll still be taking care of the transplant patients I call my own. While it would be hard to give that up, I think this new position will help me become somewhat less attached ... which will be a good thing.

The second thing, perhaps somewhat more exciting, is that I will be returning to The Gambia in February. Unlike previous trips to Africa, this time I will be spending about four months in the country. Part of my role will be to continue working at the hospital; probably doing some teaching and continuing to improve the inventory system. The other part will be to help CVM coordinate the short term teams they will be sending in February and May. As such, I will be the chief hospital liaison -- setting up opportunities for the volunteers. I will also be more involved with their projects and help with follow-up. I probably have most of you on my email update list. However, if you want to make sure, just forward your address.

I will also need to raise approximately $2,500 per month ($10,000 total). If you are interested in partnering with me financially, please let me know and I can give you the specific details.

Of course, I certainly encourage you to pray for me too.

So there it is, after a long pause over the weekend, two, somewhat large, announcements.

I would be remiss if I did not also mention that today we pause to remember those who strive to protect the freedoms held so dearly by our country. It matters not so much if one favours or disfavours war. The sacrifice can be appreciated. There are others, like my grandfathers, who did not fight. While their sacrifice was different, the concept of service was still present for those conscientious objectors.

...we will seek alternatives ways to serve humanity and our countries in the spirit of Christ.

Just beyond (bw), by:jenjie

This evening I was rewarded with an email reminder in my inbox:

It is Valentines Day in Canada on Wednesday February 14th.

I digress. Last year I posted a list of heartwarming tunes for the un-Valentine inclined. There is no need to post the list twice (unless you have some to add?).

Perhaps a repost of another thought is also needed...

The 14 Day Trend for weather in my area is shocking. It goes from plus 3 or 4 to minus 34 in the span of 48 hours! Ah well, I suppose we've been spoiled thus far.

I have not put up decorations. I have not baked goodies. I have not sent Christmas cards or holiday letters. I started and finished shopping yesterday. I started listening to carols this evening.

I recently lamented that I have not been fulfilling my holiday duty. I repeated this to my parents last night. Their response: "but is that what it is all about?"

Although Christmas is not about trees and twinkling lights or shortbread and chocolates or cards strung along the mantle or yet another carol on the radio ... these are things that refocus me on the fact that it truly is Christmas. The past two weeks since I've been back from Africa have been a blur. Work (and lots of overtime) and meetings and a wedding and a weekend birthday bash ... these things have kept me busy. Truthfully, it has been just like any other day or week.

It is so easy to forget about Christmas throughout the rest of the year. Why should now, when I have the opportunity to reflect and rejoice openly in the birth of my Saviour, the season be lost to me. So, in many ways, I am truly sorry for not getting my act together, popping a CD in, pulling out that box of cards I bought last year at 80% off, munching away on freshly iced sugar cookies and addressing you a letter under the glow of my twinkling pine.

For now, this will have to do (HT: Will):

I think the real Jesus wants us to take the baby Jesus out of our nativity scenes, and into our real worlds... What kind of life are we giving baby Jesus if we only show him off close to Christmas?

This November I will be heading to The Gambia, in Western Africa (map), for a missions trip with Christian Volunteer Movement.

There are many exciting things which I may be involved with. However, I am excited that I will be using my expertise as a pharmacist while I am there. Along with two other hospital pharmacists, I may be involved with developing medication kits for rural health workers, attending rounds in the hospital along with local physicians, organizing the hospital’s pharmacy dispensary and medication supplies, and/or teaching pharmacology courses at the local university.

Through a discussion with a work colleague, I was reminded that despite the fact that many of us live in neighbourhoods, a sense of community is often quite lacking. As I began thinking about this conversation, the upcoming trip to Africa and how God has blessed me with great abundance, I had an idea. I have a job that both pays well and offers flexibility in having time off. So I thought, if I have the time and financial resources to make the Africa trip possible what are ways that I could also benefit the local community? My solution .... you!

I have decided to use the resources God has entrusted to me to go to Africa. In turn, I want to extend the invitation to those who may have otherwise considered supporting me to instead support their local community with their own time and finances. Of course, your prayers for myself and other group members are highly valued.

If you decide to take me up on this opportunity, I'd love to hear how you got involved.

Today is the International Day of Peace.
Greg has a nice post on his journey to embracing non-violence as a kingdom virtue. As a menno, non-violence seems very second nature to me. Rather than figuring out how peace fits into my worldview of acceptance/tolerance of war/violence/non-peace, I am working through the flipside.
With that said, I would encourage you to consider and pray for peace ... for we all have an important role to play.

Yes indeed. I managed to get myself two tickets to see the Rolling Stones in Regina on Friday, October 6! That would be one ticket for me and one ticket for the person who comes knocking first. I'll even put you up in my guest bedroom and maybe even feed you a meal or two. (Hmmm, that sounds a little like bribing you just so I'll get some company.)

Anyway, they are sweet tickets ... in section A5 ... that would be in the first section where the stage meets the catwalk.

Let me know if you want to come.

Sarah is dead. The last of the three fishies from Winnipeg; the last of two who made the trek to Saskatchewan. And what a lovely fishy she was; pseudo-eyelashes and all. Now I am left very, very much alone. (The house is so quiet!)

While Sarah et al are certainly not replacable, the fishbowl looks a little odd sitting there so empty. So I will venture out and pick up some more swimming creatures. The previous have all had female names conferred. I'm thinking it would be nice to have some males in the house ... Butch, Fred, Alistaire. Any name suggestions?

Yup. The rumors I've been hearing for weeks on end are true. The Stones are coming to Regina October 8. But seriously, who ever comes to Regina? And, folks get to trample the grass on Taylor Field or whatever it is actually called these days. Maybe even in the snow if they're lucky.

Oi!!!! See that?!? Somewhere's around July 26 it is nearly 40!!!!! And this chicky-poo doesn't have AC. Time to camp out in the basement I suppose.

Then again, the forecast usually changes in the course of a few days.

Forecast thanks to The Weather Network

Why do I do this to myself?

The darn flight leaves (hopefully) promptly at 0600h ... a mere eight and a half hours from time of writing. Which means awakening around 0400h to allow for airport arrival/parking/check in/coffee getting at 0500h. Then a joyous five hours of air travel before arriving in my destination. And where might that be, you ask? Simply shift your gaze to the weather listings on your right. See the third one? The capital of a certain country? The one forecasting rain for an entire weekend? (Nothing compared to the glorious 30+ degrees I'll be leaving.) Yes, that it where I will be for several days.

So, while I have been posting less frequently than usual, do expect an absence for the next few days. That is, unless I am able to find a sunny internet cafe ... or even a rainy internet cafe for that matter.

I may even post some photos upon my return. Until then have a most excellent Canada Day!

So I've now lost my hold to the "quarter of a century" title and all the appurtenances that go along with it (wait a sec, there aren't any ... oh well).

What does this mean? Cake. And lots of it.

I'm sorry. I was in a p*ssy mood this evening ... actually, I chose my mood to become p*ssy. At Bible study no less. (But then again, perhaps my mood should be better amongst those to whom I may be the only Christian they ever see than among fellow believers.)
Why did I become bitter to the world? I was on call tonight. And, although my mission statement includes phrases such as "imitate Christ" and "love and serve beyond the call of duty", I really can't say I acted that way. I was asked to supply a certain medication for a patient that wasn't in the overnight supply cupboard (i.e. I would have to come in to provide it). Ten minutes later, having now arrived at the hospital, the nurse pages me again to say that she has now "found" additional orders for similar medications (and perhaps better options as well). Yet, my tone of voice, body language, overall demeanor, and more importantly, the thoughts in my head, were not justified or appropriate.
And driving home in the dark night, raindrops on my windshield, I felt the urge to continue driving for hours. A catharsis of sorts. Instead, my pennance is now much more public. You see, Bible study was about church (or even big-C Church) membership. I don't think we get membership. In the era of grocery store discount cards, roadside assistance clubs, and professional associations, the term membership has lost meaning. Maybe if we called it a church covanent, people might get it. Maybe if we actually discussed it, people might get it.
A part of this covanent/membership is the concept of accountability--hence, this public pennance. In addition to my poor choice of attitude described above, sometimes there are other things I should be telling you. Then again, these often feel like very private things and blogs are very public things.

You know you're a mennonite when a search for"farmer sausage white stuff on Google gets you 5th spot. (Perhaps I should be aiming for top 3?) I suppose the mennogirl domain adds a bit of credibility too.
If the guy who googled that question ever comes back, the answer is cooked meat juices containing protein. A similar concept to an egg white turning white when it cooks.

Today ... Good Friday. All of Lent has come to this solemn day. Ever since Christmas, the passing moments have been leading to this very one. Yesterday was Passover...the Lord's Supper...Communion...the remembrance of today and the next few days ahead. Did you prepare?

One month ... until my birthday. (That is, same day next month.) I will do without cards and gifts. Join me for dinner or come play frisbee in the park or give me a call instead.

Your Birthdate: May 14

You work well with others. That is, you're good at getting them to do work for you. It's true that you get by on your charm. But so what? You make people happy! You're dynamic, clever, and funny. And people like to have you around. But you're so restless, they better not expect you to stay around for long.

Look -- she's just not that into you. Back off already.

You may have noticed ... but I've desided to change the name of this thing, whatever it is. The Found Sheep will still write, but will write in a land where the wind blows deeply.

I've added a few more titles to my wish list. Don't worry about buying them for me ... I'm going to send off for several of them shortly.

OK, so I was just watching the weather channel and this is what they have to say about the week ahead...
Monday high=28 humidex=32
Tuesday high=25 no humidex
Wednesday high=28 humidex=37
Thursday high=31 humidex=47

Forty-seven degrees when you account for the humidity ... that's just way, way too hot. I'll definitely be visiting the pool or the mall or McDonalds.

Tuesday, May 31st
World No Tobacco Day

I know it's early, but...

Saturday, August 6th:
Friendship Day

Sunday, September 11th:
Grandparent's Day

I was a bit worried when I heard about the fire at a Paris hotel.
The hotel I stayed at was the Hotel Nouvel Opera ... the fire was at the Paris-Opera Hotel. I had to MapQuest the addresses to assure myself they were not the same place.
(Start=Paris-Opera Hotel [fire], end=Hotel Nouvel Opera)

Gmail (the webmail service from google with tonnes of space and nifty features) has just given me a whole bunch of invites. If you'd like to get your very own gmail account, just let me know.

The plans are ...
Worship night at Grant Memorial Church at 7pm
A late movie to follow (and perhaps coffee inbetween)
See you there :)

Well, we're a bit into December and now that my new Christmas lights are up (and will need to be returned seeing as about half are already burned out) and Christmas party invites are beginning to trickle in ... I have decided I'd better get started with a few details myself.
What I need from you is your current mailing address. Why? Well I've decided to sit down and write my Christmas cards. That's right - no impersonal signing of preprinted cards here. An actual personalized and handwritten message to each of you. I realize this takes all the surprize out of getting an expected piece of mail that isn't a bill or audit notice from Revenue Canada. But if I don't have your current address how will I ever send it to you in the first place?
So your timely response to this email with your current mailing address is appreciated.

You'll have noticed lately that the ol' blog has under gone some changes. Mennoboy moved, and improvements have been made. (If anyone's interested in joining the soon to arrive mennogal, or some similar domain, let Chris know. The more the merrier.)

One change that has been made is in the comment section. I was tired of getting 5-10 spam comments, and with the improvements - such comments can be avoided. It does mean an extra step for you, my loyal (or perhaps new) readers. A simple sign up step with typekey will allow you post comments. Many other blogging programs (e.g. blogger) have a step for commenters to sign up due to the comment spam problem. Sorry for any inconvenience but, nonetheless, please do continue to comment. I really do enjoy hearing from you.

So I figured I'd look around at blogs I've 'ignored' for a while, and ended up at Chris' blog. He's got a good suggestion regarding not using Internet Explorer. I've known this for some time (thanks to my little bro'), but I finally made the move over to Firefox. For those of you who are not so technologically savy - not to worry - you won't have to learn a new system. (Plus, it blocks all those nasty pop-ups for you.)

So, although I've figured out who I'm voting for tomorrow, I did find it interesting that Paul had (note the past tense) his own blog. (This is not supposed to be an endorsement on my behalf -- more of a statement on how leaders are reaching out to a demographic that tends not to vote.)

So do your part - vote tomorrow!!!! If you haven't been put on the voting list or received a card in the mail, you can still vote. Just bring a piece of ID with your name, current address and signature on it or two pieces with some combination of the above to your polling station (look it up here).

PS - There's always the fake Paul Martin Blog

So I've moved. If you didn't get the new address, and you'd like it, let me know and I'll send it off to you.

I have a whole wonderful month off before I start my new job. At the rate I'm going, that should be just enough time to unpack the multitude of boxes that are scattered about.

So I thought I'd leave you with a few thought provoking (aka take time to procrastinate) quotes...

Does anyone in Saskatoon want the 2003 CPS?
Let me know if you want it. I'll be in town this weekend ... otherwise it'll be at my parents' place.

Thank you - you know who you are. A few folks happened to send me these...

And who could have imagined - green grass and snow on my birthday!

Yay! I think I just subletted the apartment.
We'll find out tomorrow for sure ... when the dude talk to ms. landlady.
The dude said he'd been to see Ms. Landlady this morning but she'd shown him another apartment that was both smaller and more expensive. He much preferred mine - so he whipped out his cell phone on his way out my door.
Yay for guys who want to sublet my place!!! A magnificent answer to prayer. :)
Now back to the kitchen - I'm overzealously preparing 4 items for a potluck tomorrow at the Renal Health Clinic (where I'm doing my rotation at the moment) ... it's on 'cuz it's my last day. I love the folks there! I'm really going to miss it.

Okey dokey. So I just had 3 people come by and look at the apartment.
This last one works at the hospital that is right across the street. She had a friend to convince her that this was the one. She has the landlady's number and I told her to call right away if she wanted it - which she said she'd do.
So to celebrate, I grabbed a Jones soda from my fridge (Fufu berry) and the message in the lid said ...

You can plan now with confidence.

Coincidence? I think not.

Now I just have to find my own place. I think I'll go with one similar to that of apt's 1-5 in the photos but with the following: 2nd floor, 2 BR, 1.5 or 2 bath, maybe a fireplace but maybe not, and hopefully with a good view. Is this too much to ask? We'll see. I'm going to look at these places again on Thursday.

The last of the apartment hunt photos are posted here

This guy came to look at my apartment this evening and it sounds fairly promising that he'll take it. (He's got the landlady's number.) He kept implying it was too good to be true - clean, spacious, cheap.

So now I have to figure out which apartment is for me. I'm personally leaning towards #2. But I'm going to call that landlady back to see if there is one similar but on the 2nd level (?safety). Does anyone know if the fireplaces get cold/drafty in the winter?

I'm also stressed about getting my car licensed in MB. I have to get it safetied sometime during this crazy busy week since my SK plates expire on Friday. I have a feeling I may need to replace the brakes cuz they are getting quite squeally. So it looks like I'll have to miss grand rounds on Wednesday (and the topic looked quite exciting actually) since I'll have to take the bus to work after dropping my car off. Arg, so much money will be spent this week on boring, yet somewhat essential, little things that quickly become large expensive things.

Oh well, things will be just fine. And there are only 25 days of residency left!

here's your chance to have a say. i'm planning on moving to be closer to work. i've been to look at a few places already, and will be to a few more on monday.
of course, i took my camera along to help me remember, and now you can have a say in where i move.
follow the link below to have a look and then come back to comment on your top pick(s). remeber that a couple more will be posted on monday. (but do comment before then too.)
http://photos.yahoo.com/apartmenthunt04
p.s. each "album" is a different apartment, click on one to read the general description then click on the individual photos to read further descriptions

OK ... so if you're reading this you've come to my new blog. Don't be alarmed .... I added the "automatic re-direct" to the old blog so that you'd find this one.
Please adjust your links accordingly. :)

Guess what? I just might make the move over to mennoboy.com as I was pondering a while ago. Apparently it's not gender exclusive (despite the fact that mennogirl would be pretty cool in and of itself). I'll see what happens and keep y'all updated.

not so much frustrating - i'm just tired of the limitations.
a while back crys asked about joining mennoboy. (whatever happened with that --- can i join, or do we need to start mennogirl?)
can someone let me know how to go about all this going out on my own stuff?

FYI: The Prevailing Church Conference is coming to Winnipeg in March. Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church and Henry Schorr of Center Street Church are the two main speakers. It will be held at Grant Memorial Baptist Church.

For the program, click here.
For more on Grant Memorial, click here.

This is something of the chair I'd like to get at some point in my life. Something big and comfy to curl up in with a good book and a large double-double.

Photo from BeHOME